Another Side of Me
by Morning Twilight
Summary: I have a secret. A secret that's so big that I haven't told anyone. Not even my twin brother. Only a few Professors even know. But now I realize it's just another side of me. A side that reveals itself only during a full moon. (George/Hermione romance)
1. Well it all started when...

A/N: So much for only updating two stories of mine! This is the second new story I've posted in a week! Well, I've recently become engrossed in G/H fanfics. (That's George/Hermione) I decided that I wanted to write one too! 

When I started writing this, it was only going to be a couple chapters long, but I thought of a great idea, and I decided to make it into a really long fic. Hope you like it. This first chapter's a bit depressing.

Summary: Lavender and Parvati want to set Hermione up with George Weasley, but they had no idea what George was hiding. Hermione persuades George to tell her his secret, but will she regret it? G/H romance!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters, names, places etc. that are mentioned and do not intend to gain anything at all from writing this other than self-satisfaction. 

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"Hermione, please come over here for a moment," Lavender beckoned Hermione to the couch where she and Parvati were sitting. Hermione sighed. This couldn't be good.

"We've been thinking," said Parvati. "Everyone in the fifth year is dating someone."

Hermione groaned. So this is what they wanted: to set her up with someone.

"Harry has Ginny, Seamus has me, Dean has a Ravenclaw girl named Bridget, Neville has that Hufflepuff, Susan, Ron has Parvati-"

"I get it," Hermione interrupted. "I'm the only single person in our year. Now save me some time and tell me who you want to set me up with, I'll tell you no, and we can all get on with our lives."

"Won't you even give him a chance?" Parvati asked.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"You two would be perfect together. Aren't you just a little curious?"

"Yes, I'm curious, but I don't really care. I don't want a relationship right now. I just broke up with Victor."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I'm sorry Hermione, we shouldn't have bothered you," Lavender said. The two girls turned their backs on Hermione.

"Wait, aren't you going to tell me?" Hermione asked.

"I thought you weren't interested," said Lavender slyly.

"That can't stop me from being curious," Hermione said.

"Fine. We thought you be great with George Weasley. Now would be great time to make your move, too, since he just broke up with Angelina. You could catch him on the rebound!" Parvati said excitedly.

"George? He's nothing like me! We have nothing in common."

"Well, they don't say 'opposites attract' for nothing. C'mon Hermione, give it a shot."

"No."

"Please?"

"No. Isn't this conversation becoming repetitive? I'm going to bed." Hermione turned and went up the steps to her dormitory, but she couldn't hide the redness in her face.

Hermione plopped down on her bed and pulled out _The New Edition of Hogwarts, A History_. She glanced at her clock after only ten minutes and realized that it was only seven. Now she felt really stupid. She decided to try to get some sleep anyway.

***

Hermione had only been sleeping for a couple hours before she woke again. She wouldn't be able to get back to sleep again until at least one. Stupid Parvati and Lavender. What did they know, anyway?

Hermione decided to see if anyone was still in the common room after checking that Lavender and Parvati were safely in their beds.

As Hermione neared the bottom of the stairs, she saw the outline of someone crouched over, their head in their hands, sitting on the couch in front of the fire.

"Um, excuse me? Are you alright?" Hermione asked tentatively.

The person sat up suddenly at the sound of someone's voice. Hermione still couldn't make out who it was.

The person sniffed as if they had just been crying. "I'm fine. Why don't you go back to bed, Hermione."

"You are not fine, and I'm not tired. I still don't know who you are, and I won't leave until I've found out."

"You'll be here for a good while, then, I'm afraid." The person sniffed again, furiously trying to wipe his eyes.

Hermione grabbed a tissue from a nearby table and sat down on the couch next to the person.

"Here," she said softly, handing him the tissue.

"Thanks," he replied, still not facing her. "You know, it's been a while since I stayed up in front of the fire crying like this."

"You've done this before?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Sometimes I just get so frustrated that I lose control."

"I know how that feels. People always expect so much of me, just because I get good grades," Hermione told him. "If everyone would just study, they'd do just as good."

"A lot of people don't know that I got the top marks for my year on the O.W.L.'s in fifth year. And they don't know there's a whole other side of me."

"Well, now I do. Now let me get to see the side that most people see," Hermione told him.

The person sitting next to Hermione turned around and faced her, and Hermione was more shocked than she's ever been in her whole life. Here she was sitting next to a tear-streaked George.

"Hey, look Hermione, just go on up to bed. I'll be fine," George said.

"No, you'll just start crying again, I know you will. I don't like seeing you depressed," Hermione told him.

"Please, Hermione, just go to bed. I don't want you to see me like this. I need to deal with something on my own."

"No!" There was a tone of finality in her voice, so George stopped arguing. "Either you tell me what's bugging you, or we'll be sitting here all night." Hermione took George's hand in hers. "I promise I won't tell anyone. You can trust me." Hermione looked deeply into George's eyes and saw him differently for the first time. He wasn't just a fun-loving maniac who never gave a thought about his future. He really tried hard at everything and people needed to give him a break.

Without realizing it, Hermione started moving closer to George and closed her eyes as the two of them kissed each other.

"Hermione, please, I can't. There's something about me that no one knows. No one except Dumbledore and a few others, that is. Not even Fred knows. I can't do this. I don't want to hurt you. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you my secret. Not now, anyhow." George said. Fresh tears started leaking out of his eyes.

"Please tell me George. I promise I won't freak out or anything," Hermione assured him. She started rubbing his back, trying to comfort him.

"I know your trustworthy and all, but this secret is bigger than anything you can imagine." George said. He looked at her and kissed her once more. This time, a little more passionately.

George sighed. "Okay, Hermione. I know you'll never leave me alone if I don't tell you so I guess you're going to find out. Please don't hate me."

"I'll love you no matter what, George." Hermione was as startled by what she said as George was.

"Okay, well it all started when..."

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A/N: Pretty interesting so far? Sorry to leave a cliffie!(Actually, I'm not sorry) Please R/R!

I'll be nice and post chapter 2 at the same time as chapter 1.


	2. George's Secret

A/N: Chapter 2!!! Sorry about the cliffie in the last chapter!

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"Okay, well, it all started when Snape gave me and Fred a detention in my fifth year for turning his robe electric blue," said George. "I was supposed to go into the Forbidden Forest with Professor Sprout to collect these very rare seeds from some plant. I don't even remember what it was now." At this point, George stopped to wipe the remaining tears from his eyes. Hermione took his hand reassuringly.

"Anyway, I was supposed to go with her, and somewhere along the path, I got separated from her and Fred. I'm not exactly sure how. I started running, trying to get back to them but..." George had been looking at the ground while he spoke, but now he looked up at Hermione.

"...Hermione,... I-I'm a-a... I'm a werewolf." George looked at the ground again and tears were pouring freely from his eyes. His shoulders were shaking as he tried to contain himself.

Hermione just gaped at him. She had no idea. She couldn't believe him. This was probably just another stupid one of his and Fred's jokes. But Hermione quickly dismissed that idea as she watched how much George was struggling. Hermione didn't know what to do. She put her arm around him and he immediately collapsed into her.

"I'm so s-sorry, Hermione. I never wanted you to have to deal with me like this. That's why I always sit in front of the fire late at night. I don't want you to have to carry my burden for me. Y-you can forget I ever told you. Now go to bed. Please. Please just leave me alone."

Hermione just watched him for a few seconds. "George, it's okay." she said. George looked at her through blurry eyes and seemed surprised that she was still there.

"You are so good, Hermione. Not many people would forgive someone for keeping a secret this big from them." George paused, regaining control of himself. "Okay, back to my story. I was trying to catch up to-to Professor Sprout and Fred when I heard something behind me. The next thing I knew, I was being chased by this pack of wolves. I-I tried t-to shoot spells at them. I-I tried everything I knew, but nothing worked. They had me surrounded. Oh, God, I was so scared. All of them advanced on me and I couldn't do anything. I was completely helpless. There was one of them that was slightly bigger than the others- he got to me first. He-he took a big bite out of my leg." George touched his leg lightly, indicating the place. He paused again, trying not to cry even more.

"I-I got scratched up real bad. The wolf, actually werewolf, broke my leg. All the others attacked me. I got bit countless times." He looked at Hermione again. "You have no idea how much pain I was in. I think I was partly unconscious by the Professor Sprout found me and scared the wolves away. That was fifteen minutes after the first bite. She thought I'd died. To tell you the truth, I can't believe I'm still alive." More tears poured out of George.

"Well, she levitated me back up to the castle- to the hospital wing. She told Fred to go back as soon as I got separated, so he has no idea. Madame Pomfrey cleaned up my wounds easily, but she recognized the bite on my leg as a werewolf bite right away. She told Dumbledore right away, of course. I was still unconscious. I lost a lot of blood and I didn't wake up till morning. They told me everything. I couldn't believe it. I still can't. Hermione?"

Hermione, who had been listening intently and looking at George, was startled to be addressed. "What?"

"Well, you haven't said anything in a long time. What do you think about all of this?" George asked.

"Well, I'm fine with it I guess. I mean, its shocking news, but I think I can deal with it. I think we can deal with it, together." Hermione said. She looked at George and found her stare returned. They kissed and held each other close.

"I-I love you, Hermione. You're so sweet. You're so nice. I don't deserve you."

"Yes you do. And I love you too." Hermione told him. She ran her fingers through his fiery hair. "Hey George? Who all knows? I mean besides me, Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, and Professor Sprout."

"Well, Snape knows because he has to give me my wolfsbane potion. I think that's it. The other Professors swore that they wouldn't tell anyone. I could be kicked out of school. Professor Sprout blames herself a lot. I'm sure Fred would, too, if he knew. Now Hermione, you can't tell anyone, right?"

"Don't worry. I won't even tell Ron or Harry."

"And can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure."

"Er, well, willyougooutwimme?" George stammered.

"Pardon?"

George sighed, "Will you go out with me? Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh! Yes, yes of course I will."

George looked relieved. "Oh, good. I-I'll see you in the morning, then," George stammered. He kissed her on the cheek and they walked to the staircases to the dormitories hand in hand. "Hermione, er, thank you. For everything. Good night." George kissed her passionately once more and walked up their separate staircases. 

Hermione was about halfway up when she heard giggling ahead of her. She froze. How much had they heard?

She kept climbing and saw Parvati and Lavender.

"How much did you here?" Hermione asked sharply.

"Oh, we heard enough," Lavender said. "Thought you weren't ready to be in a relationship right now, Hermione."

Hermione was relieved. For a second, she thought they heard George's secret.

"We saw you two on the couch, but we couldn't hear what you guys were saying. It's not fair, but you'll give us all the juicy details, right?" Parvati asked.

"Er, no, I can't. Even if I could, I wouldn't. You two are the biggest gossips in the whole school!"

"C'mon! George looked really upset. What were you talking about? You can tell us."

"No."

"Please?"

"No. Why do all of our conversations end up like this?"

"But you are going out, right?" asked Lavender.

"Yes, but I'm not telling you any more."

"We saw you guys kissing."

"So?"

"We saw George crying."

"So? That's none of your business."

"You gotta give us something!"

"No, I don't. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

"I'm sorry for this Hermione, but..." Parvati pulled out a small vile. "Hermione, this is Veritesserum, the truth potion. Tell us something now, or we'll force you to."

"You wouldn't," she said shakily.

"We will. This is your last chance."

"I can't. I love him too much. I won't tell you his secret!" Parvati and Lavender advanced on her and unscrewed the top of the little glass bottle. Hermione let out a scream as Lavender put her in the full body bind.

"Petrificus Totalus," Lavender said.

The next thing Hermione knew, she was falling down the stairs. Her head was about to hit when two strong arms caught her.

"What's going on?" George demanded.

"Nothing," Parvati said stupidly.

"Why did Hermione scream, and who put the body-bind curse on her? Tell me!" his tone of voice was almost frightening. "What's in that bottle?" George performed the counter-curse on Hermione and she immediately told him what happened.

"They wanted me to tell them what happened between me and you, but I wouldn't and they pulled that Veritesserum out and I screamed and they put me in a body bind."

"We weren't trying to hurt her, honest, but we were curious. Nothing interesting has happened around here in ages!" Lavender complained.

"Don't you dare come near her again!" George yelled.

"George, settle down, it's alright! I'm all right. Let's just all go to bed, okay? I know I'm beat. Goodnight George," Hermione said as she kissed him on the cheek.

Hermione went up the steps and heard George go down and Parvati and Lavender coming up, too. Hermione fell asleep right away. The new information about George was shocking, but she had a real boyfriend at last.


	3. The A.W.L.

A/N: Woo-hoo! The next chapter is here! Aren't you excited? I know I am. There is a long conversation, so let me know if it's easy to follow and makes sense. Thanks to all who reviewed! *Smiles at all three of them*.

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters, names, places, etc. are not mine, but JKR's and I claim no credit for them. I do not intend to gain anything from writing this other than self-satisfaction.

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Chapter 3: The A.W.L.

Hermione, not surprisingly, slept late the next morning. Maybe a little too late, actually, because when she got to the Great Hall, it was already half-empty. She was in such a hurry that she didn't notice the buzz of murmurs throughout the hall.

"Hey, Hermione, did you see the Daily Prophet this morning?" Ron asked as he walked over to where she was sitting, stuffing food in her mouth. "It's unbelievable. Here."

Ron handed her the paper. It said:

__

A.W.L: The Anti-werewolf League

Yesterday, at a conference at which the head of the Department of the control of Magical Creatures, Beast Division, spoke, activists who call themselves the A.W.L. protested the number of rights that werewolves have.

Unlike most groups, the A.W.L. believes that werewolves have too many rights. Fifteen years ago, when You-know-who was in full power, Death-eaters persuaded much of the existing werewolf community to the Dark Side. Now that You-know-who is rising again, whom can we trust? Your best friend may be keeping a dangerous secret from you. 

Does the A.W.L. have the right idea? Are werewolves not to be trusted? This Daily Prophet _special correspondent thinks so. What steps are the A.W.L members taking to prevent werewolves from turning on us? Here's what Kyle Grafton, League head, had to say:_

"No werewolf can be trusted! Our goal is to rid the world of all werewolves. How? By killing them, of course. Pretty soon, our group will have enough people to have a mass-massacre of all those filthy creatures. I don't care if it is illegal. I've had enough of being deceived.

We know that anyone could be a werewolf. Take, for instance, the incident with the DADA teacher at Hogwarts a few years ago. Lupin, I think his name was. Do you want your children going to school with a dangerous beast?!"

Grafton has a good point. Voice your opinions to the address above and if you would like to join the A.W.L., please contact Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet_ special correspondent. One final note from Grafton to all werewolves:_

"We're coming for you!"

"Oh my God!" Hermione exclaimed. "Sorry, Ron, but I have to go find George! I'll see you later."

"Wait-Hermione-why do you need to see him?" Ron asked. He glanced down at the paper again. Below the A.W.L. article was an ad that read: _Filibuster's Fireworks going-out-of-business sale! Everything must go!_

Ron groaned. Pretty soon, disaster would strike Hogwarts. An explosive, multi-colored, boom of a disaster.

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"George," Hermione said, "what do we do once this group gets bigger? Lots of people are against werewolves. They'll have a whole army of people in no time!"

George was staring at his feet as he sat on a chair in the common room. "I'm going to see Dumbledore," he said simply. He had a perfectly blank expression on his face as he rose from his chair and walked towards the door.

"I'll come, too, George. Dumbledore probably already knows-"

"No," George interrupted. "I'm going alone. I'll see you later." _Hopefully_, he added silently. He knew that Dumbledore would want George to be safe and if the A.W.L. came anywhere near Hogwarts, George would be out of there faster than you could say "full moon".

George left the common room without saying anything else, leaving Hermione staring after him.

He walked down the various hallways and soon reached the stone gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office. "Soda-pop," he said. George was always given the new passwords to Dumbledore's office, mainly in case he ever needed to talk to the headmaster about anything concerning his being a werewolf. So far, he hadn't talked with anyone about it. Except, of course, last night.

George ascended the stairs, thinking of how he could bring up the subject. Could he just waltz in there and say, _'Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the A.W.L. Yeah, I saw that article this morning and I was scared for my life.'?_ That definitely made him sound like a wimp.

George tentatively knocked on the door. "Come in," came the headmaster's kindly voice. George stepped into the office as he took a deep breath.

"Oh, hello George," Dumbledore said. "Tea?"

"No thanks," he said as he took a seat. "Er-I was wondering-

"Oh, before you start, I would like to tell you that I have been tracking the A.W.L. since it first began a few months ago. You've hard of them I trust?" George breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "I had a spy join them to let me know what their progress is. It seems that they have all sorts of enchantments and devices to detect werewolves, all of which are quite new and effective.

"I also learned that they want to come here, to the Forbidden Forest, to kill all of the werewolves that are running wild. I got an owl from their head, Mr. Grafton, this morning telling me that they are coming here on the next full moon, with or without my permission. He also said that while they are here, they want to do tests on all of the students and staff to see if anyone poses a 'threat'."

"But, what will I do? I sure can't stay here! The next full moon is tonight!" George exclaimed. 

"I realize that, Mr. Weasley, and I've already made arrangements for you to stay with Remus Lupin." Dumbledore told him. George brightened. He had always been quite fond of his former, wolf-of-a-professor. "Now, listen closely. You must follow my plan exactly. If all goes well, you should be back to school in three days. In the meantime, your peers will be told that you have an unfortunate case of the stomach flu.

"This evening, you will board the Hogwarts Express at five. Professor Snape will be waiting at the main doors to see you to Hogsmead safely and to give you your wolfsbane potion. The train ride will be approximately four hours long, so there is no doubt you will have to transform on the train. The train will stop at the Bellus Station. Remus will greet you at the BACK side of the train. Whatever you do, do not leave through the normal doors. The train conductor will lead you to the proper exit. Remus will give you instructions from there. Now, do you understand? Do you have any questions?"

"What will I have to bring with me?" George asked.

"All of your things will be taken to the train by the house-elves," Dumbledore told him.

"I guess that's it. Oh, and all of your assignments for the next few days are right here. Don't want to get behind, now do we?" Dumbledore let out a hearty chuckle.

"No, I guess not," George smiled.

"You don't have to go to classes today, if you don't want. I suspect you'll not be able to concentrate. And if I don't see you again, good luck."

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George sat in his dormitory for a good part of the day. He mostly contemplated whether or not he should tell Hermione, or anybody for that matter. He tried to get started on his homework, but found it surprisingly hard to concentrate. He moped around the empty common room, trying to find anything to lift his spirits but did not succeed. Everything he saw reminded him of his departure.

Finally, the time came to leave. George left the Gryffindor tower, towards the main entrance. The bad part, something George had not counted on, happened. A straggler who was late for dinner was in the hallway. He gave George a quizzical look.

"Where do you think you're going?" the boy sneered.

"That's not business of yours. You best be getting on your way," George told him.

"I have as much right to be in the hallway as you," he said in a nasty tone of voice.

"Don't you want to eat?" George said in a sweet, sarcastic voice. As if on cue, the boy's stomach emitted a large growl. The boy glared at George, then walked away without saying another word. George continued walking and glanced back and smiled at the boy who was still shooting daggers at him. 

George approached the main entrance to the castle. Snape was standing there already, expressionless. He handed George the goblet he was holding. He took it in one swig, trying not to prolong the nasty taste it left. Snape was silent, still expressionless. This puzzled George. He thought the professor would be angry, but he showed no signs of any emotion.

"Come along, Mr. Weasley," Snape said in a monotone. George followed him. He was so consumed by the professor's odd behavior that he did not notice the figure creeping along after them...

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A/N: There was something I was going to explain here...what was it? I can't remember. Oh, well. If there's something that you don't understand, tell me in the review. In the next chapter, we learn why Snape was acting strangely and who the person was that was following George. I recommend that you follow the story because I'll start updating regularly. The next chapter is really exciting. I can't stand it; I have to give you a hint: George never safely reaches Remus. That will have to do. 


	4. Two Cures

A/N: Chapter 4!!! This is a very exciting chapter. It might be a little confusing so tell me if it is. I can change it then re-upload it, but that probably won't be necessary. I've gotten a lot better about rushing things, but I still tend to rush when I'm in a hurry to get to a good part. I'm so sorry about the long wait, but I got writer's block, then I got up with trying to fix my website and I really haven't had any time to write!

Oh, I remembered what I was going to tell you at the end of the last chapter. The reason that George doesn't just use Floo powder is because Hogwarts is not part of the Floo network. They wouldn't want students sneaking off the grounds. (Or, in the case of Sirius Black in Harry's third year, people sneaking in.)

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Professor Snape led George to a horse-less carriage, like the ones that carry them to Hogwarts at the beginning of the year. He opened the door and motioned for George to get in. George sat down, followed by Snape on the opposite side. The carriage immediately started moving.

George absent-mindedly stared out of his window, realizing he wasn't about to start a conversation with his potions master. Suddenly, George comprehended the strangeness of what he saw in the distant sky. A fleet of dragons (at least he thought they were dragons) was flying towards the school.

"That would be our guests arriving," Snape told him. "Always the show-off's."

George would have called them anything but guests. He counted at least ten dragons with people mounted on them. That would make it about three hundred people. {I figure thirty people per dragon, since they can be quite large.}

"If you think that's a lot of people, I've got news for you," Snape said in the same monotonous voice. "That's only a fourth of their whole group."

"How do you-" George started, but his voice cut-off as he noticed that another carriage was behind them. He knew he probably shouldn't have, but George kept quiet. He didn't want the professor to think he was scared of everything. They reached the train station in good time, and George boarded the train. The conductor looked a little frightened when he saw George.

"So..." he said. "You're the werewolf that'll be riding tonight?" he asked. George nodded. He noticed the man shudder. "My name's Bernie, by the way. You can sit where you like, for now, but once we get goin' I don't want you to be anywhere near me. I'm not riskin' gettin' bitten. You stay back there, you here? I don't trust no potion to stop a werewolf from bitin'. It's in their nature." George nodded again.

"Did 'ya take yer potion, lad?" Bernie asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. S'pose we should get goin' eh?" Bernie pushed and pulled various buttons and levers and the train began to move. Bernie glanced nervously at the darkening sky. "Er- maybe you should go back there now... just to be safe."

George didn't mind. He found this man annoying and biased. "I'll come knock on the compartment door when we're there, lad," Bernie told him.

George opened the door and strolled around the train, looking for his bag that the house-elves had brought. Finally he found it in a compartment halfway down the train. He settled into the seat and prepared for the excruciating pain he was about to have. He looked out the window and saw the sun barely visible now.

"George?" a voice called. George jumped.

"Who's there?" he asked looking around the compartment.

"George, it's me."

"Who's me?"

"Hermione!"

"Hermione! What on Earth are you doing here?! And where are you?"

"I'm up here," Hermione told him, "in the luggage rack." George laughed nervously and shook his head.

"Hermione, you better get out of here. I'll be transforming any second and I don't want to put you in danger. The Wolfsbane potion doesn't always work, you know. Go tell the conductor to turn around or something. You're going to get into a lot of trouble!"

"I'm staying right here, George. You shouldn't have to go through this alone." George wished he could have hugged her. She _actually _understood how he felt: lonely. 

"Hermione, stay right there. I really didn't want you to see this. It's... very painful to transform... don't come down no matter how much I scream. I'll be all right, just don't worry." George felt the all-to-familiar tingling throughout his body. Any second now...

It hit him like a bolt of lightning. There was an unbelievably overwhelming pain surging through his body. He doubled over onto the floor and couldn't suppress the scream any longer. It was a scream that made Hermione's heart falter. Why should anyone be put through this much pain? Hermione watched in horror as George rolled around on the floor, screaming at every move. It looked like he was going into convulsions. Hermione wanted desperately to jump down and comfort him, but she was wiser than that.

Hermione saw George's spine twist and contort into that of a werewolf. His arms, legs and face were growing darker with fur. George stopped moving altogether now, and Hermione feared he might have died. He let out a soft moan and sweat was soaking his face. But soon enough he screamed again and his arms and legs grew skinnier and finally, it was over. George sat up and curled into a ball. Hermione could have cried.

She felt so helpless, just watching George suffer like that.

"George?" Hermione asked. "Are you alright?" The wolf lying on the ground raised his head and nodded. "Can I come down?" The wolf shook his head vigorously.

'_No!_' George thought. '_I don't want to hurt you!_'

Hermione stayed where she was. It pained her to not be able to help George in some way. He looked so tired, all curled up on the floor. Hermione watched over George long after he fell asleep. Finally, she too drifted off to dream land...

There was a sudden jolt and Hermione was knocked not only into consciousness, but right off the shelf she was sleeping on. She saw fire outside. What was going on?

The train had stopped completely now. Hermione stuck her face to the window and tried to make out the shapes. They were... people... carrying torches. It looked like a mob. Hermione's stomach lurched when she realized that the A.W.L. had found them, and they weren't about to let a werewolf just walk away.

Everyone lined up along the train, hundreds of people. And unexpectedly, they started pushing the train, not along the tracks, but sideways so that they would tip it right over. Hermione backed away from the window. 

"George!" Hermione called. There was a small wolfish whimper. "We have to get out of here!" She opened the compartment door and was about to step into the hallway when the train was pushed again. Hermione tumbled to the ground. She got onto her hands and knees and crawled away.

She sensed that George was following her as she made her way to the exit. There it was! The train was pushed again and this time, Hermione realized in horror, it worked. It tottered for a second on only half of its wheels, then it rolled right into the forest on the other side of the track. The crowd's cheers over-powered the sounds of Hermione's screams, and George's howls.

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"Hey, Harry," a voice called to him from somewhere. Harry looked around, but it was impossible to distinguish exactly which person the voice came from. The entire student body and staff of Hogwarts School were lined up on the grounds in front of the main doors. Dumbledore was helpless to stop the A.W.L. from checking for werewolves, seeing as they were like an angry mob. It was like the witch-hunts that went on centuries ago.

"Harry!" the voice called again. Harry glanced to his left and saw Fred standing probably fifteen people down the line. "Have you seen George anywhere?" Harry shook his head.

"I don't think I'd be able to spot a unicorn in this mob, let alone another person wearing the same thing as everybody else. I haven't seen Hermione or Ron in at least an hour!"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I saw Ron down near the end of the line to your right. I haven't seen Hermione, though. I'll just catch up with George later." Fred quieted because members of the A.W.L. were approaching with their detection machines. Harry shuddered. How could people be so biased.

Remus Lupin threw a handful of powder into his study's fireplace later that night and said, "Professor Dumbledore, please." After a few seconds, the head of Dumbledore appeared in the fireplace, ignoring the flames lapping at his cheeks.

"Oh, hello Remus. I trust George made it safely? And Hermione as well?"

"Professor, I'm getting worried. The train never arrived at the station. And what's this about Hermione?"

"Never mind about that. What do you mean the train never arrived? Are you sure?" Dumbledore actually felt a slight pain in his stomach. It was a pain he hadn't felt in many of years, the source of which was unease and nervousness.

"I don't know what could have happened."

"Remus, I need you to get a search party together. Quickly. We'll need probably thirteen people. Search all along the railroad tracks on broomsticks and be sure to stay out of sight. I'll meet you there. We must find those kids."

"Yes, sir."

"Wait a second, Remus. Why aren't you a werewolf? Shouldn't you have transformed an hour ago?" Remus grinned despite himself.

"I was wondering if you'd notice. I was going to have a nice surprise for George and all the other people who suffer from werewolf bites. I've been working long and hard on a cure for transforming and last night, I finished it. All it is, is a charm, rather complex, but it's quite effective. The only side affect is a queasy feeling in your stomach and a tingling in your spine."

"Oh, well done! I dare say you'll receive an Order of Merlin First Class for that. And it might just be enough to stop the A.W.L. in its tracks." 

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A/N: Okay, so a lot of the things I promised would be explained weren't, like why Prof. Snape was acting strangely. But you'll find that out in the next chapter. I case you didn't realize, the person following George was Hermione (Duh). It was shorter than I thought it would be. Kind of stupid, too.

BTW, if you know any REALLY good Marauders fic, let me know. I've been searching for one, but with no luck. And if you have any free time, check out my website (still under construction). www.geocities.com/morning_twilight13/.


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